


Finding Self

by TsukiMizuko



Series: What would happen? [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: I'm just testing the waters right now, More characters but there's too many to name, Multi, post season 03 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukiMizuko/pseuds/TsukiMizuko
Summary: Following Black Lighting's ascension to leader of the Justice League, Robin's biggest secret is revealed to the Team and the Outsiders. And maybe, just maybe, it's time to move on.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Roy Harper
Series: What would happen? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747216
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just a test run of the new story, I don't really know much about how it's going to go yet, so I want to see what kind of reaction I get from the first chapter.

"Sorry, Nightwing. Not happening. Now would you _focus?_ " Is the first thing the Outsiders hear as they step through the zeta tubes onto the Watchtower, joining the Team in the mission room.

It's Tim, as expected, standing in the middle of the main floor with a set of holo-screens open in front of him, typing away as he talks to the older vigilante. The teen boy wonder hasn't been patrolling in Gotham lately. No one on the Team or the Outsiders is really sure why, just that Tim hanging out on the Watchtower while helping Oracle with the technical side of patrol is now a thing.

"Yeah, I get that, but... I just don't have time. I promise I'll think about it though, okay?" Tim says, sighing. He doesn't turn, but acknowledges the gathered Outsiders, with a wave of a hand.

"Hold on. I've got a call coming over the other line. No, it's probably Arsenal... Shut up."

"Arsenal?" Halo asks, glancing around at the other Team members. It occurs to the group as a whole that Terra, Cyborg, Halo, and Forager weren't around during the debacle that was Arsenal's time on the Team.

"He was a member of the Team briefly a few years ago." Superboy explains. "Nightwing kicked him out after he put the Team in danger one too many times. He was... kind of volatile."

"Oh, so like you were?" Halo says. The words are said with perfect innocence, in that way that only Halo can manage, but Superboy winces anyway.

"Yeah." He says. "Like me."

"What's Tim doing helping Arsenal anyway?" Cassie asks with a huff. "He could have gotten us all killed on the War World."

Glances pass between the members of the Outsiders at that question, especially those who were on the Team back when Arsenal had been kicked off. It's a good question. Robin had been the leader of another mission Arsenal had effectively sabotaged back during the Reach invasion. He, of everyone, has a good reason to never want to talk to the former archer again.

"Robin is kind of a really forgiving person, I think." Jaime says as the helmet of the Blue Beetle armor recedes.

Cassie grunts in... well, something. Not agreement, certainly.

Artemis grins a little bit as she removes Tigress's mask. "Calm down, Cassie." She says. "It's not hurting anyone for Robin to make sure Arsenal doesn't get himself killed while flying solo."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Superboy guesses.

"Yep. Arsenal has a day job working at Bowhunter Security with Will and Jim. He stops by the house for dinner sometimes. Let it slip last time he was there."

"Oh." Is all Connor has to say to that.

Slowly, they all turn their attention back to Tim as he types.

"Okay. So you need an escape route. Why didn't you already have one planned?" Then, "Oh, you _did,_ did you? But it went to hell because you set off the explosives too early? Right... Well, that one's on you, no excuses. Turn left at the next alley... Right at the intersection after that... No, it's not a dead end you moron, check the brick directly in front of you... Good. I'm clearing you for the zeta tube closest to your apartment. Yeah, you're heading straight there to put ice on your wrist, you imbecile. _Crap, I sound like Robin."_

That last bit catches the attention of everyone in the room, because last any of them checked, Tim was Robin. There's no reason to say he sounded like himself.

As he talks, Tim pulls a hair tie off his wrist, tying his chin-length hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of his face.

"You're there? Great. I've got to finish up with patrol for the night. I'll see you tomorrow. Night."

As he closes the line to the wayward archer, Tim slips off the red jacket he's so fond of, dropping it on the ground and kicking it out of the way.

"Nightwing?" He calls. "Yeah, I'm back, Arsenal just needed an escape route. He's back home now... A bit bruised up, but he'll be fine... Yeah, yeah, I know you don't like it. Tough. Are you heading back now?"

There's a moment of silence as Nightwing gives a slightly longer response before Tim speaks again.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a sec and say hi to the Outsiders and the Team, okay? Great."

With that, Tim turns to his current and former teammates.

And it is in this moment that all the assembled young heroes realize that there is something wrong with the picture Tim makes.

The Boy Wonder's hair is up in a ponytail, and he's dressed in tight-fitting jeans and a plain white shirt, both of which hug some suddenly very _obvious_ curves.

"What the-" Superboy starts to say, only to cut himself off.

"Are those...?" Halo kind of... squeaks.

"YOU'RE A GIRL?!" Bart squawks.

Tim sighs, holds one hand up to stop the flood of questions on the lips of his-her?-teammates, and reaches up to the com in his ear.

"Robin III to all Gotham units. I'm going off com for the rest of the night. Got a situation on the Watchtower."

Batman's voice comes through a moment later. "What's wrong?" He demands in that voice. You know, _the night._

"Nothing. Just the fact that _someone_ let Ace into the laundry room again." There's something particularly scathing in that tone, like Tim is placing blame for something no one on the team understands.

Finally the young hero turns to the members of the Team and the Outsiders, a resigned look on his, or maybe her, face.

"One at a time, please." The teenagers says.

"You're a girl." Bart starts after a long moment of silence.

"Yes."

"Like, a girl-girl? Because 'girl' is kind of relative."

Tim sighs. "I have two X chromosomes, and I identify with the implied gender both mentally and emotionally."

"Okay." Jaime says slowly. Followed quickly by, "You _knew?!_ Why didn't you tell me? What do you mean it 'of no consequence'?"

It's a typical Scarab-Jaime conversation, and at this point everyone just lets it go.

"You hid it from all of us." Garfield says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I did." Comes the cool reply.

"Why?"

"Because is _doesn't matter_ what gender I am, as long as I can do my job properly. Which I have been doing. For years."

"If it doesn't matter," Terra starts, a slight hesitation in her tone, "Then why did you pretend to be a boy?"

Tim pauses, glances away, wraps her arms around herself in a poor imitation of a hug.

"Because Robin is the Boy Wonder, and that was what Batman needed."

"What Batman needed?" Superboy clarifies. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The question makes Tim withdraw from the others, makes her curl into herself just that little bit more.

"After Jason died," She starts unsurely, "Batman went off the deep end. He got... reckless. He was putting purse snatchers in the hospital, getting injured when he could have avoided it. He was out of control. he was going to kill someone or-or... or destroy himself and take Gotham down in the process. Someone needed to _do_ something to put a stop to it. I already knew who Batman and Robin-both Robins-were, so I went to Dick. I tried to persuade him to go back to being Robin, because if anyone could bring Batman back, it was the first Robin, but Dick wouldn't listen.

"So, I had to go straight to the source. I went straight to Batman, talked him into letting me be Robin. He put me through training from hell, pushed me to be the best at everything so that I wouldn't go the way Jason did. And, eventually, I was ready to go out on patrol. But I realized long before that that while Batman needed a Robin, he didn't need _me._ He needed Dick, or Jason, or the closest thing he could possibly get. So... I dressed as a boy. I became the Boy Wonder in every respect that I possibly could. I did what was necessary, and I kept it a secret so that it wouldn't cause confusion, and because it made it easier to hide my identity."

There's a long moment of silence after that. No one is really sure what to say to that. Tim has been a member of the team for a good four years, but she's _never_ spilled this much about herself in that time as she just did in the past few minutes.

What are they supposed to say to a confession like this?


	2. It's Nothing New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin isn't done with the Team yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter of Finding Self. Not much to say about this time, but thanks to TsukiMizuko Otosan for the feedback.

The first person to recover enough to say anything is Eduardo. It's not surprising. The teleporter doesn't know Tim all that well, so the revelation isn't as much of a shock to him as it is to the people who have known the teenaged hero for a few years now. "Soooo..." He starts slowly. "Is Tim your real name?" Tim stares blankly, like she can't quite believe that's what he's worried about. She huffs. "Yes. It's short for Timothea."

"Huh." Ed mutters. "Then why go by Tim? Couldn't you go by Thea?"

Tim smirks. "Calling me Thea is a privilege reserved for a very few people in my life."

"Like Nightwing." M'gann suggests, clearly thinking of the close relationship between the current and former Robins.

"No." Tim says.

"Next potentially vital question." Cassie interrupts before anyone can ask anything. "You said something about sounding like Robin. I thought you were Robin."

"Mmmm." Tim hums noncommittally. "Actually, I'm not Robin anymore."

"What?!" half the Team choruses.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Cassie hisses.

Tim shakes her head. "It's only official as of tonight. I've been on and off patrol for the past few weeks because I was busy facilitating the switch between me and my successor. Tonight was his first patrol with Batman."

"So who's the new Robin?" Jaime asks.

"A brat." Tim says with a small grin. At the others' exasperated expressions, she smiles. "In all seriousness, I'm not allowed to tell you his name, but he's a good kid... sort of. He has his moments. Batman wants him on the Team eventually, just not yet."

"Not like we couldn't use the extra manpower." Artemis admits. "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" To her credit, Tim looks genuinely confused by the question.

"I think she means, what are you going to do about being a hero?" Connor clarifies. "Are you retiring now, or are you going to take up a new identity?"

Tim hums thoughtfully, like she actually has to think about it, although her expression says otherwise.

"You can cut that out any time." Cassie huffs.

Tim smiles. "You know me too well." She says sweetly. "New identity, definitely. Just not yet. I... need some time first, to figure some things out."

"Like what?" Bart asks.

"Like who Tim Drake is without Robin." Then the girl sighs. "Patrol should be over by now. I need to go home. Just so you know, I probably won't be around for a while."

With that said, Tim grabs her jacket off the floor and heads for the zeta tubes, casting a brief smile over her shoulder in the process.

**Recognized, Robin-B20**

Silence reigns again as the (now former) Boy Wonder leaves the Team.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Comments are appreciated.
> 
> See you soon.


	3. New Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes, and the Team sees gains members, some new, some old.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say about this time, but I do hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Several Months Later**

"Man that was fun!" Jaime crowed.

"Yeah, that was pretty great." Cassie agreed. "We need to do it again sometime."

The entirety of both the Team and the Outsiders--minus Nightwing and Oracle--had just had sleepover on the Watchtower. It had been a long night of various movies, popcorn, and a meal cooked by the collective of M'gann, Connor, and Artemis.

"So you say." Traci mumbled, reappearing in the entertainment room in her mission gear. Behind her followed Spoiler, Orphan, and Arrowette. "You don't have a mission today."

M'gann frowned. "Are you sure you're up for this. If you're too tired we can have someone sub in for you."

"I'm fine." Traci said quickly, fastening her jacket shut. "I'm not too tired for a mission. I made sure to get enough sleep."

"Okay." M'gann said. "Come on then. Nightwing should be here in a few minutes."

"We'll come with you." Jaime offered. "Keep you company, you know?"

Traci smiled in thanks.

Ultimately, the group of young heroes decided to leave the the mess they had made in favor of seeing off their friends.

"We'll get it later." Garfield said.

"You'd better." M'gann huffed in amusement.

They reached the mission room just as the zeta tube hummed to life.

**Recognized, Nightwing-B01. Oracle-B16. Sparrow-B20. Robin-B35**

Nightwing stepped out of the zeta tube, followed closely by Oracle and two other people that no one recognized, at least, not at first.

The first person was, without a doubt, the new Robin. He was looked fairly young, and was kind of short, but with a sturdy build. He was dressed in what was obviously a new variation of the Robin suit. It strongly resembled Tim's last uniform, including the hooded cloak. However, the cloak was ragged at the bottom hem, giving it the look of a well-worn piece of clothing. The boy also appeared to have replaced the light-weight shoes all the previous Robins had favored with a pair of green, lace-up combat boots. He also carried a katana on his back under his cloak, similar to Orphan. A green domino mask hid his eyes, and his face was set in what appeared to be a perpetual scowl.

The second person was a girl. She wore a mostly black outfit, with a dark red utility belt and dark red accents on what appeared to be a variation on sturdy hiking boots. Her black hair was braided back and a black domino mask hid her identity. Her chest was bare of any kind of emblem or identifying mark.

"Nightwing." M'gann greeted the Team's leader. "New faces?"

"Right." Nightwing said. He turned to the Team and the Outsiders. "Everyone, meet Robin. He'll be joining the Team starting on today's mission. I believe you already know Sparrow."

All eyes turned to the two young heroes. The new Robin lifted his chin defiantly, glaring at the assembled young heroes as though taking their curious gazes as some kind of challenge. Sparrow appeared unruffled by the attention, instead smiling slightly at them.

It hit Cassie first.

"Tim!" She half-squealed at the other girl, launching herself at the hero and hugging her tightly.

Sparrow let out a slightly startled "Oof" as she was nearly plowed over by the Amazon girl. She chuckled quietly, patting Cassie on the back.

"Nice to see you guys too." She said, her smile turning in to a rare grin.

"Tt." A small sound drew everyone's attention to the new Robin, who was scowling at Cassie.

"Yes, Robin?" Sparrow asked..

"I do not understand why you permit this girl to hang all over you, Timothea." Robin huffed.

"It's called a hug, Robin. You've been getting them from Nightwing on an hourly basis for months."

"Daily basis!" Nightwing yelled from where he was talking with Oracle, M'gann, and Artemis.

Robin scoffed. "I still fail to see the point. It is a superfluous gesture of affection."

"You don't have to see the point." Sparrow shook her head. "Now introduce yourself to your new teammates."

"They already know who I am." Robin protested.

Sparrow gave Robin a _look_ as if to say "too bad" or something like that.

"It's common courtesy. Or I can do it."

"Tt. Fine." Robin grumbled. He turned to the Team and the Outsiders. "My name is Damian Wayne, but you may call me Robin. It is a... pleasure... to meet you."

"Damian... Wayne..." Jaime repeated slowly, then turned to Sparrow.

"Yeah. That means exactly what you think it does." Sparrow sighed in a way that was so very _Tim._

"Batman has a son." Bart squeaked. "Like, an actual, genetically related son."

"Of course." Robin--Damian--scoffed. "And I expect you all to remember that."

At the confused looks of all her friends, Sparrow sighed.

"Robin, that means less here than it does is Gotham. Besides, it's not going to help you prove anything to us."

Robin scowled.

"Alright." Nightwing's voice interrupted the discussion before Robin could say anything else. "Briefing time. Everyone line up."

Sparrow and Robin broke away from the Outsiders, along with Spoiler, Arrowette, Orphan, and Thirteen, lining up with Halo, Tigress, and Miss Martian.

"This is going to take some getting used to." Virgil muttered to the rest of the Outsiders.

"Don't worry," Connor said mildly. "It's just an adjustment period, like with every new hero."

"Okay team," Nightwing said. "Here's the deal..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo. That's the ending.
> 
> I know this was pretty short. I just don't have it in me to write more, but I didn't want to leave the story unfinished. Perhaps one day I'll come back and rewrite it, but I can't make any guarantees.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all liked it. I'd love comments, especially what you like and what you think could be better!
> 
> See you soon (I hope)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Finding Self](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28523520) by [SaltchipsandAngstfics (Spiralingletters)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiralingletters/pseuds/SaltchipsandAngstfics), [Spiralingletters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiralingletters/pseuds/Spiralingletters), [Zeynlia (Spiralingletters)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiralingletters/pseuds/Zeynlia)




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